A toddler is recovering after his family claims he nearly lost his arm in a vicious dog attack at his Cincinnati home earlier this month, according to reports.
On March 2, Xavier Carr’s family was dog-sitting another person’s Belgian Malinois when the small boy’s arm was nearly torn off during a dog attack, according to WKRC-TV.
Joshua Carr, the 3-year-father, old’s told the source that he raced to his son’s side when he heard him “screaming at the top of his lungs.”
“…There was a huge puddle of blood underneath of him,” Carr recalled to the station. “As cliché as it sounds, I immediately thought of Grey’s Anatomy, and I took my belt off that I was wearing and wrapped it around his arm to stop the bleeding as I was calling 911.”
Doctors applauded the father’s quick thinking for saving his son’s life, according to WKRC-TV. Xavier had many surgeries to reconnect his leg, which was only held together by two inches of muscle and skin.
Doctors are apparently optimistic that he will restore arm function following the surgery.
“It’s going to be limited, but he’s got a high chance of being able to use that [arm] again, partially because he was [attacked] at such a young age,” Carr said.
A GoFundMe page has been put up to aid with medical expenses. “Xavier will be dealing with this tragedy for the rest of his life,” according to the fundraiser’s description, and his family expects him to have “many more” surgery and therapy during his rehabilitation.
According to WKRC-TV, the dog involved in the incident was euthanized.